In a national landscape that is dotted with memorials to the dead of 20th-century wars, the Soldiers' Memorial on Otago Peninsula is one of the most prominent. The stone figure of a World War 1 infantryman gazes towards the Otago Harbour entrance as if in eternal vigilance against attack on the city of Dunedin which lies far below to his left.
The memorial can be seen from all over Dunedin, silhouetted on the peninsula skyline.
It is a fitting place for men with a connection to the peninsula to be remembered, men who went off to war with hope in their hearts and duty in their souls and who did not come home. The monument is striking both for its positioning and its concept.
Designed by architect Edward Walter Walden and sculpted by Robert Hosie, the infantryman in greatcoat with rifle slung over his left shoulder stands about 3m tall atop a bluestone column of about 10m.
Together, they are fixed on top of what used to be known as ''the Big Stone'' but which shortly before the memorial unveiling in 1923 was renamed Arthur's Seat, after the massif that towers over Edinburgh.
The weather was not kind the day the memorial was unveiled. The Rev Andrew Cameron, one of the leading Presbyterian figures in New Zealand at the time, provided the religious accompaniment and the local member of Parliament, James Dickson, the secular.
But Cameron also delved into pre-Christian times when he quoted from The Iliad:''The brave meets danger, and the coward fleesTo die or conquer, proves a hero's heartAnd knowing this, I know a soldier's part.''
How many people were there for the unveiling was not recorded: it was ''a large concourse'' in the Otago Daily Times and ''a very large gathering'' in the Evening Star. During the formal ceremony the people, said to be from all over the city and the peninsula, sheltered as best they could in the lee of the great rock from the southerly that swept in over Tomahawk and Andersons Bay.
It is not difficult to imagine among them the mothers, the fathers, the widows, the brothers and sisters, those for whom this became the surrogate grave of the men they had farewelled with an emotional mix of pride and trepidation not long before.
I see the memorial practically every day and decided one day to climb the hill and find what manner of men these were whose memory remains in such a lofty place. Their names were inscribed into a granite tablet fixed to the base of the bluestone cairn. The order of service for the unveiling and the three Dunedin newspapers (the weekly Otago Witness was the third) said there were 49 names on the tablet. But there are not. There are 52 names there under the heading: ''Otago Peninsula Fallen Soldiers Memorial. Roll of Honour.''
A comparison of the names on the plaque with names in the nominal roll of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force showed inconsistencies while some were not even on the roll. Some names were spelt differently, some initials and some ranks were different.
There are errors and omissions among the names, a not uncommon feature of World War 1 memorials anywhere. Conditions then were not what they are now; stonemasons could work only with what they were told and sometimes the telling was imperfect but to the best of knowledge.
The most obvious error was with one of the three officers on the plaque.
''Lieut W. Stewart'' appears in the almost-alphabetical order of the names but then ''Lieut W. Stuart'' appears last. It seems the mason must have been told how Stuart should have been spelt so added one but could not delete the other.
It may have been some comfort to John and Mary Stuart of Highcliff, the parents of Lieutenant William Alexander Stuart.
Gradually I compiled a database of names that appeared on the plaque compared with names I thought they ought to be.
My main sources were the nominal roll, the service records which are held at Archives New Zealand and a book that is the most poignant published in New Zealand: it lists the names of all who served in the NZEF and died in or as a result of World War 1.
There were some names that did not appear in any of those sources. Internet search engines and PapersPast are not perfect, but they are a great help.
''C.A. DeLatour'' was twice carved into the plaque but no such soldier existed. Searches revealed them to be Cecil Andrew de Lautour and Edgar Frederick de Lautour, sons of Lieutenant-Colonel Harry de Lautour, a doctor who for a time had been the principal medical officer for the Otago Volunteer District.
Cecil served with the Rhodesia Regiment in British East Africa (now Kenya) and died of disease, while Edgar served with the Australian Light Horse and was killed at Gallipoli.
Three of the men on the plaque served with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), two with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) and one with the British Expeditionary Force. Gradually, names and records came together.
The whole exercise was heavy with pathos. There were six sets of brothers other than the de Lautours. There were the Dunford boys, sons of Susan and William, of Arawa St. Patrick died first, killed in action at Ypres in December 1917.
Four months later, James was drowned at Ismailia in Egypt. Thomas at least made it home, but not for long. He had a thighbone shattered at Messines in 1917 and lay immobile but conscious in a shell-hole for two days and three nights.
He was invalided home and arrived back in Dunedin on New Year's Day, 1918. Eight months later, in Dunedin Hospital, he died of his wounds.
Two younger brothers, David and John, were still in the front line in France. It would be nice to think that Dunford Pl in Musselburgh is named for the family.
The administrative structures of the peninsula at the time are worth noting. It was called the County of Peninsula and its ''ridings'' (electorates) were Portobello, Sandymount, Highcliff, Broad Bay, North-east Harbour, Tomahawk and Andersons Bay.
The peninsula's total population in the 1911 census was just under 3000, although Maori were not then included.
Among the remembered brothers were Colin Albert and Hunter Page Fairbairn. They were sons of James Fairbairn, of Highcliff. Their mother Amelia had died in 1910. Hunter, who had taken up farming at Edendale, was the first of the two to die.
He was wounded at Gallipoli and was being evacuated to Alexandria when he died at sea. The death of his brother Colin four months later was the most challenging to track down.
It was reported in newspapers in November 1915 that he had been killed in action in France while serving with the 29th Battalion of the CEF. A death notice appeared in the Otago Daily Times on November 23, 1915 confirming that.
There could be no doubt. But, and it proved to be a big but, the nominal roll for the Canadian battalion showed no Colin Albert Fairbairn from New Zealand. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) website, which is easily searchable for all Commonwealth war dead, did not have a C. A. Fairbairn either. There is a list, known as ''the Guthrie index,'' available at the Hocken Library and it purports to show the names of all New Zealanders who served with the forces of other countries. But Colin Fairbairn was not on it.
A check was made with National Archives of Australia just in case he served with the AIF rather than the CEF, even though Australian (and New Zealand) forces were nowhere near France at the time. But no.
Increasingly intrigued, I searched the CWGC site by date rather than by name. Up came the names of everyone serving in Commonwealth forces killed on September 26, 1915.
I narrowed it down to Canadians. No Fairbairn, exactly as I had anticipated. If he did not serve as a Fairbairn, he must have served under another name.
What was a likely looking Dunedin name, I wondered. There was a C. McDonald. I called him up. Yes, 29th Battalion, but no information about next of kin. So I went back to the CEF nominal roll, also available online, thank goodness, and put in his name.
I could read the first and last pages of his attestation paper, the initial statement that accompanied all soldiers' records. And there it was: this C McDonald was Colin and he was born in Dunedin on January 20 1892, but listed the next of kin as a T. A. McDonald, of British Columbia.
He enlisted in Vancouver. The next step was to get Colin Fairbairn's birth certificate and it showed that he was indeed born on January 20 1892. It had to be the same man. For a reason yet to be determined (and one that might never be) Fairbairn enlisted, served and died as McDonald.
Research of most names on the plaque was straightforward compared with that one. But all the men's stories made sorrowful reading.
Take Guy Bridgeman. He was 22 when he joined the first troops to leave, the Main Body, as a trooper in the Otago Mounted Rifles. He was among the small group of New Zealanders who first saw action in the war when turning back a Turkish attack on the Suez Canal.
He afterwards went to Gallipoli where, after five months of that campaign, he was shot through the lungs by a sniper. When he returned to active service in January 1916, he transferred to the Field Artillery in France and was commissioned. The Somme, Messines, Passchendaele, Bridgeman went through them all.
He won the Military Cross in 1917 for tending to and rescuing a wounded man while under fire. Late in 1917, he was entering a German pillbox when he was hit by machine-gun fire.
He was evacuated to London and eventually home. Back in New Zealand and recovering from his wounds, Bridgeman joined a reinforcement draft and went to Featherston camp.
There, he was a victim of a different enemy, the influenza pandemic, and he died three days after Armistice Day. The most senior officer listed on the plaque, Captain John Bishop, a member of the permanent force and thus the only professional soldier listed, also died of disease.
Five of the men, including the de Lautour brothers, also served in the Boer War.
Ron Palenski thanks Ian Farquhar and Don Lyttle for their assistance with research.
Roll of honour
10286 Corporal Robert Gentle Allan
2nd Battalion, Otago Regiment, NZEF
Killed in action, Somme, October 1, 1916
Remembered on Caterpillar Valley (New Zealand) Memorial
Sonof Matthew and Ethel Allan, of 28 Maclaggan Street, Dunedin
3082114 Private James Lewis Bayne
78thBattalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force
Died of wounds, Rouen, France, October 10, 1918
Buried in St Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen (S. II. Q. 19)
Son of Peter and Margaret Bayne of Northeast Harbour, Dunedin
25/1222 Captain John Bishop
New Zealand Rifle Brigade, NZEF
Died of disease, Fulham Military Hospital, London, January 15, 1917
Buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery, Woking, Surrey (VIII. E. 6.)
Husband of Rose Bishop, of Onehunga
47700 Private George Braid
Otago Regiment, NZEF
Died of disease (contracted on war service), Dunedin, December 3, 1920
Buried in Anderson’s Bay Cemetery (block 71S, plot 6A)
Son of Mrs Mary Braid, Woodhaugh
9/152nd Lieutenant Guy Fyans Clive Bridgeman MC
NewZealand Field Artillery, NZEF
Died of disease, Featherston Military Camp, November 14, 1918
Buriedin Featherston Cemetery (plot 668)
Son of Frederick and Florence Bridgeman of Dunedin
The citation for his Military Crossread: ''February 26th to September 20th 1917.'An exceptionally plucky young officer. He has done very good work as Forward Observation Officer at different times. He was F.O.O for hisbattery at Messines and established an Observation Post well forwardwhen the infantry reached their final objective. During acounterattack the enemy putdown a barrage which wounded one of histwo telephonists and, underfire, Lieutenant Bridgeman dressed theman's wound and acarried him back to a dress station.'' - LondonGazette, January 1, 1918,
9/409 Driver Edward Gunning Brookes
2nd Divisional Ammunition Column, New Zealand Field Artillery, NZEF
Died of wounds, northern France, July 7, 1917
Buried in Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension, Nord, France (III. D. 219.)
Son of S. L. Brookes, Dunedin
2619A Private Andrew Gray Cowie
51st Battalion, 13th Brigade, Australian Imperial Force
Died of wounds, northern France, March 31, 1917
Buried in Bapaume Australian Cemetery (A. 36)
Son of Margery Cowie of Dunedin, and Peter Cowie
Brother of Bertie Shiel Cowie
40889 Private Bertie Shiel Cowie
3rd Battalion, Otago Regiment, NZEF
Died of wounds, Belgium, October 5, 1917
Buried at Brandhoek New Military Cemetery No 3 (I. K. 9.)
Son of Margery Cowie of Dunedin and Peter Cowie
Brother of Andrew Gray Cowie
8/561 Private John Davis
Otago Regiment, NZEF
Killed in action, Messines, June 7, 1917
Buried at St Quentin Cabaret Military Cemetery, Heuvelland, West Flanders(II. L. 12.)
Son of Michael and Janet Davis of Sandymount
10/2583 Sergeant Samuel James Wilfred Dawson
Wellington Regiment, NZEF
Killed in action, the Somme, September 25, 1916
Remembered on Caterpillar Valley (New Zealand) Memorial
Son of James and Annie Dawson, of Nelson, formerly of Musselburgh
465 Private Cecil Andrew de Lautour
2nd Rhodesia Regiment
Die dof disease, Kilindini, British East Africa [Kenya], November 4, 1915
Buried Nairobi South Cemetery, Kenya (section II, row C3, lot 521)
Son of Harriet Emma and Lieutenant-Colonel Harry Archibald de Lautour,who had been principal medical officer, Otago Volunteer District
Brother of Edgar Frederick de Lautour
1622 Private de Lautour also served with 15 Company, 5thContingent; 4709 Sergeant de Lautour with the 7thContingent; and 5875 Sergeant de Lautour with G Squadron, 8thContingent; Boer War, 1901-02.
82 Sergeant Edgar Frederick de Lautour
3rd Australian Light Horse Regiment, Australian Imperial Force
Killed in action, Pope’s Hill, Gallipoli, May 25, 1915
Buried, Shrapnel Valley Cemetery, Gallipoli (IV. A. 30)
Son of Harriet Emma and Lieutenant-Colonel Harry Archibald de Lautour,who had been principal medical officer, Otago Volunteer District
Brother of Cecil Andrew de Lautour
5912 Private de Lautour also served with G Squadron, 8thContingent, in the Boer War, 1902.
10/1468 Donald McKenzie Dickson
Wellington Regiment, NZEF
Killed in action, Gallipoli, July 18, 1915
Buried in Shrapnel Valley Cemetery, Gallipoli (III. F. 20.)
Son of David and Murray Dickson, of Timaru; born in Portobello
Brother of Millen Stuart Dickson
59622 Private Millen Stuart Dickson
1st Battalion, Auckland Regiment
Died of wounds, northern France, September 28, 1918
Buried in Lebicquiere Communal Cemetery Extension, Pas-de-Calais
Son of David and Murray Dickson, of Timaru; born in Portobello
Brother of Donald McKenzie Dickson
3/171A Corporal William Gibson Downing
Medical Corps, on transfer to headquarters, Canterbury Mounted Rifles, NZEF
Died of wounds sustained at Gallipoli, Alexandria, December 14, 1915
Buried in Alexandria (Chatby) Military and War Memorial Cemetery (B. 54)
Son of Kate Downing, of Andersons Bay
68913 Trooper James Henry Dunford
New Zealand Mounted Rifles
Accidentally drowned, Ismailia, Egypt, April 14, 1918
Buried in Ismailia War Cemetery, Egypt (B. 116)
Son of William and Susan Dunford, Andersons Bay
Brother of Patrick and Thomas Dunford
49357 Private Patrick Dunford
Otago Regiment, NZEF
Killed in action, Ypres, Belgium, December 12, 1917
Buried in Polygon Wood Cemetery (D. 8.)
Son of William and Susan Dunford, Andersons Bay
Brother of James and Thomas Dunford
29897 Private Thomas Dunford
Auckland Regiment, NZEF
Died in Dunedin on August 13, 1918 of wounds sustained at Messines
Buried in Anderson’s Bay Cemetery (block 24 plot 31)
Son of William and Susan Dunford, Andersons Bay
Brother of James and Patrick Dunford
Colin Albert Fairbairn
(Enlisted and served as 75370 Private Colin McDonald)
29thBattalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force
Killed in action in Flanders, September 26, 1915
Remembered on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial (panel 18-28-30)
Son of James and the late Amelia Fairbairn, of Highcliff
Brother of Hunter Page Fairbairn
8/197 Private Hunter Page Fairbairn
Otago Regiment, NZEF
Died of wounds sustained on Gallipoli, at sea May 3, 1915
Remembered on Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli (reference 75)
Son of James and the late Amelia Fairbairn, of Highcliff
Brother of Colin Albert Fairbairn
34846 Private Robert Gall
Otago Regiment, NZEF
Killed in action, Havrincourt, France, September 2, 1918
Buried in Bancourt British Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais (I. A. 14.)
So nof William and Jane Gall of Andersons Bay
56 Sapper Alexander Garden
First Field Company Engineers, Australian Imperial Force
Died of wounds sustained at Gallipoli, in Alexandria, December 8, 1915
Buried in Alexandria (Chatby) Military and War Memorial Cemetery (A. 59.)
Son of James and Jane Garden of Andersons Bay
9/36/ 16/36 Lance-Corporal John Geary
Otago Mounted Rifles/Māori Contingent, NZEF
Killed in action, Gallipoli, August 8, 1915
Remembered on Chunuk Bair (New Zealand) Memorial, Gallipoli (panel 24)
Son of William and the late Mary Geary of Portobello
16/271 Private Stewart Karetai
New Zealand Māori Contingent, NZEF
Killed in action at Gallipoli, August 21, 1915
Remembered on Hill 60 (New Zealand) Memorial, Hill 60 Cemetery, Gallipoli
Son of Joseph and Elizabeth Karetai of Otākou
9/2079 Private Alexander Kerr
Otago Regiment, NZEF
Died of wounds sustained at Messines, June 7, 1917
Buried at Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension, Nord, France (III. C. 296.)
Son of Mary Kerr of Wellington
8/64 Private Percy William Lawless
Otago Regiment, NZEF
Killed in action on May 2, 1915 (probably), at Gallipoli
Remembered on Lone Pine Memorial, Lone Pine Cemetery, Gallipoli (reference 75)
Son of William and Maud Lawless of Waikouaiti
25/654 Rifleman Robert Loan
New Zealand Rifle Brigade, NZEF
Killed in action, the Somme, September 15, 1916
Remembered on the Caterpillar Valley (New Zealand) Memorial
53244 Rifleman Archie McCurdy
New Zealand Rifle Brigade, NZEF
Killed in action in Belgium on February 21, 1918
Buried in Dochy Farm New British Cemetery, West Flanders (IV. A. 22.)
Son of John and Elizabeth McCurdy of Andersons Bay
32700 Private James Hamilton McDonald
Otago Regiment, NZEF
Killed in action at Ypres on August 17, 1917
Buried in Maple Leaf Cemetery, Hainaut, Belgium (J. 2.)
Son of the Rev George and Helen McDonald of Pukehiki
8/966 Company Sergeant-Major John Tod McGoun
Otago Regiment, NZEF
Died of wounds, Gallipoli, August 7, 1915
Remembered on Chunuk Bair (New Zealand) Memorial (14)
Husband of Alice McGoun, of Andersons Bay
5883 Corporal McGoun also served with G Squadron, 8thContingent, in the Boer War in 1902.
69029 Trooper Albert Edward McTainsh
Canterbury Mounted Rifles, NZEF
Died of disease in Palestine, October 19, 1918
Buried in Jerusalem War Cemetery (Q. 120.)
Son of John and Christine McTainsh of Christchurch, formerly of Dunedin
47277 Private Alexander Marshall
Otago Regiment, NZEF
Killed in action at Polygon Wood, France, February 16, 1918
Buried in Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood (I. B. 17.)
Husband of Annabella Marshall
8/3007 Lance corporal John Forbes Menzies
Otago Regiment, NZEF
Killed in action at the Somme, September 27, 1916
Remembered on the Caterpillar Valley (New Zealand) Memorial
Son of James and Amy Menzies of Northeast Harbour
26/593 Rifleman Lancelot Douglas Miller
New Zealand Rifle Brigade, NZEF
Died after discharge in Dunedin on February 19, 1919, from woundssustained while on active service
Buried in Andersons Bay Cemetery (block 71S, plot 30)
Next of kin given as brother, W. J. Miller, Green Island
13208 Driver Thomas James Morris
New Zealand Field Artillery, NZEF
Died of wounds, Belgium, September 26, 1917
Buried in Coxyde Military Cemetery, West Flanders (IV. B. 18.)
Son of Christina Dowell (formerly Morris) of Dunedin and ThomasMorris
67897 Rifleman George John Osmand
Third Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade, NZEF
Killed in action at Le Cateau, France, on October 8, 1918
Buried in Anneux British Cemetery (IV. C. 7.)
Husband of Lilly Osmand, Christchurch; son of John and Mary Ann Osmand,Andersons Bay
9/1350 Hector Stuart Robertson
New Zealand Rifle Brigade
Died while training for NZEF, Dunedin, October 26, 1915
Buried in Andersons Bay Cemetery, Dunedin (block 27, plot 56)
Son of Mary and the late William Robertson, of Pukehiki
Brother of Stanley Douglas Robertson
8/2115 Private Stanley Douglas Robertson
Otago Regiment, NZEF
Died of wounds, Gallipoli, August 11, 1915
Remembered on Chunuk Bair (New Zealand) Memorial, Gallipoli (panel 16)
Son of William and Mary Robertson, of Pukehiki
Brother of Hector Stuart Robertson
35407 Trooper Alexander Rodger
Canterbury Mounted Rifles, NZEF
Died of disease, Palestine, September 29, 1918
Buried in Damascus Commonwealth War Cemetery (C. 63.)
Brother of William Rodger, of Portobello
9/752 Trooper John Walker Roger
Otago Mounted Rifles, NZEF
Killed in action at Gallipoli August 6 or 7, 1915
Remembered on Chunuk Bair (New Zealand) Memorial (panel 7)
Son of Robert and Mary Roger, of Sandymount
7951 Private Roger also served with A Squadron, 9th Contingent, in the Boer War in 1902.
9/78 Sergeant Norman Graham Ross
Otago Mounted Rifles, NZEF
Killed in action at Ypres, October 12, 1917
Buried in Passchendaele New British Cemetery (VII. A. 12.)
Son of Sarah and the late Hugh Ross of Andersons Bay
25/685 Sergeant David Adams Samuel
New Zealand Rifle Brigade, NZEF
Killed in action at Bapaume, France, on August 26, 1918
Buried in Achiet-le-Grand Communal Cemetery Extension (IV. C. 2.)
Son of Dundas and Jessie Samuel of Andersons Bay
Brother of James Elder Adams Samuel and William Samuel
267056 Rifleman James Elder Adams Samuel
The King’s (Liverpool) Regiment, BEF
Killed in action September 20, 1917
Remembered on Tyne Cot Memorial (panel 31 to 34 and 162A and 163A)
Son of Dundas and Jessie Samuel of Andersons Bay
Brother of David Adams Samuel and William Samuel
43782 Trooper William Samuel
Canterbury Mounted Rifles, NZEF
Killed in action, Palestine, March 30, 1918
Buried in Damascus Commonwealth War Cemetery (D. 112.)
Son of Dundas and Jessie Samuel of Andersons Bay
Brother of David Adams Samuel and James Elder Adams Samuel
10056 Private William Sanderson
Wellington Regiment, NZEF
Killed in action, the Somme, October 2, 1916
Remembered on Caterpillar Valley (New Zealand) Memorial
Son of Mary and James Sanderson, of Andersons Bay
5969 Private Sanderson also served with G Squadron, 8thContingent, in the Boer War in 1902.
27613 Lieutenant William Alexander Stuart
2nd New Zealand Infantry Brigade headquarters, NZEF
Killed in action, Bapaume, August 16, 1918
Buried in Euston Road Cemetery, Colincamps (III. K. 4.)
Son of John and Mary Stuart, of Highcliff
23634 Private George Swann
Otago Regiment, NZEF
Killed in action, Bapaume, August 16, 1918
Buried in Euston Road Cemetery, Colincamps (III. K. S.)
Son of David and Jessie Swann of Dunedin
25/692 Sergeant Walter Thomson
New Zealand Rifle Brigade, NZEF
Killed in action, the Somme, September 15, 1916
Remembered on Caperpillar Valley (New Zealand) Memorial
Son of William and Mary Thomson of Andersons Bay
15268 Private William Weir
Otago Regiment, NZEF
Died of wounds, France, January 2, 1917
Buried in Estaires Communal Cemetery and Extension (III. I. 8.)
Son of Cochrane and Alison Weir of Pukehiki
8/1675 Private Percy Henry White
Otago Regiment, NZEF
Killed in action, Gallipoli, September 27, 1915
Remembered on Chunuk Bair (New Zealand) Memorial (panel 17)
Son of Henry and Ellen White of Andersons Bay
23/955 Second Lieutenant Frank Bernard Rushbrook Williams
New Zealand Rifle Brigade, NZEF
Killed in action, the Somme, September 17, 1916
Buried in Bulls Road Cemetery, Flers (II. J. 3.)
Son of Robert and Amy Williams of Andersons Bay
